The 42, 41, and 30 year old elephants were set to move at the end of next week, but plans were postponed at the last minute. According to the CBC, Canada in the summer is just too hot for these African elephants, whose natural range consists of large parts of sub-Saharan Africa.

“We’re in the middle of a heat wave and because the crates are made of steel and there’s some radiant heat potentially. Although the aircraft itself is temperature controlled, you know when the animals are on the tarmac and there’s clearance and so on that has to go on, just for safety sake we’ve decided that we’re going to look at September,” said Julie Woodyer of Zoocheck Canada.

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About Colin Schultz

Colin Schultz is a freelance science writer and editor based in Toronto, Canada. He blogs for Smart News and contributes to the American Geophysical Union. He has a B.Sc. in physical science and philosophy, and a M.A. in journalism.